Are You Afraid Of The Dark?
by x-HotMess
Summary: Let’s just say Halloween isn’t exactly our favourite holiday. Nate/Caitlyn


"Please, Caitlyn?" Mitchie begged.

"What would I have to wear?" Caitlyn sighed.

Mitchie perked up, sensing Caitlyn was caving. "It wouldn't have to be a really elaborate costume, just, you know, some black clothes and dark make-up!"

"Great. I'll go to Connect 3's Halloween party as an emo. That will go down _really_ well," Caitlyn rolled her eyes and started to walk through her front hall.

"Whatever floats your boat, Caitlyn, pleeeease?" Mitchie pleaded along behind her.

"I don't understand why you just don't get Tess or Peggy to go with you," Caitlyn scoffed, walking past her parent's bucket of candy for the trick-or-treaters and stuffing some in her mouth.

"Because, Tess has that big one to go to with her mom, and Peggy is in New York this weekend." Mitchie pouted, widening her eyes. "Besides, it just wouldn't be the same as going with my bestest friend in the whole wide world."

"Mitchie!" Caitlyn groaned. "Not the pout! Anything but the pout!"

Mitchie's eyes watered in response, and she jutted out her bottom lip further.

"Fine!" Caitlyn huffed, blowing her fringe out of her eyes.

"Yay! I'll come get you at six! Please be ready on time, I don't want to be late!" Mitchie hugged her friend, before dashing out the door.

"Looking forward to it," Caitlyn muttered through gritted teeth.

--

"I'll come get you at six, Caitlyn, I don't want to be late!" Caitlyn mimicked sarcastically as the flicked back her sleeve to check her watch. It was nearly twenty past.

She peered out the window at the turbulent sky. Typical that there would be a thunderstorm on Halloween. Mitchie has better get here before it started to rain. Sighing with relief as she heard a beep from outside, she picked up her props and jogged out to Mitchie's car, climbing in the passenger's seat.

"Cait-_lyn_! I told you to wear a costume!" Mitchie whined when she saw the casual clothes Caitlyn was wearing.

"I do have a costume!" Caitlyn protested, holding out a plastic knife and a box of Trix.

"You're a… deranged Trix rabbit?" Mitchie wrinkled her nose.

"Cereal Killer, Mitchie! Jeez!" Caitlyn sighed. "What are you meant to be, anyway?

"I'm a lovebug! Geddit?" Mitchie squealed, gesturing to her lady bug outfit and light-up love-heart antennas.

"Mitchie Torres, I don't even know you," Caitlyn shook her head in amusement as she clipped on her seatbelt. "Let's just get this over with."

--

Caitlyn laughed to herself as she and Mitchie approached the party, glad she hadn't taken the costume theme too seriously.

"Oh my god, I feel ridiculous," Mitchie mumbled, staring at all the scantily clad girls prancing around.

"You look ridiculous, too," Caitlyn added teasingly. "Wow, Mean Girls was right. Halloween really is just an excuse for girl to dress up as sluts and no one can say anything."

"Shane's going to think I'm such an idiot…" Mitchie trailed off sadly as a sexy nurse bumped into her, giving her a dirty look.

Caitlyn had to physically restrain herself from making some more sarcastic comments, and instead tried to focus on cheering up her friend. "Chillax. You know Shane would love you even if you turned up naked. He'd probably prefer that, actually…"

"Can you please be serious for two seconds of your life?" Mitchie snapped, fidgeting with her antennas as they walked through the front door. Upon seeing a skanky police officer and trampy Playboy bunny flaunt past them, she cracked. "That's it! I'm going home and crying into my pillow over my insecurities about my body!"

"Too late!" Caitlyn grinned, spotting Shane making his way towards them through the crowd on the dance floor, eyes only for Mitchie's outrageously bulky, bright red costume.

"Hey Caitlyn, glad you could make it. Mitchie, wow, you look amazing!" Shane grinned as he approached them, adjusting his flannel shirt and combat boots over his Superman outfit.

"I look like a goddamn traffic signal," Mitchie grumbled.

"No, you're a lovebug, I get it, it's cute," Shane chuckled, taking her hand and kissing her on the cheek, before looking at me. "And you're a… Caitlyn who has no more Trix and is going to kill someone if she doesn't get some soon?"

"Close, babe. She's a cereal killer," Mitchie's spirit heightened immediately after Shane's approval of her costume.

"Cool…" Shane muttered indifferently, before dragging Mitchie away to dance.

Rolling her eyes, Caitlyn scanned the crowd for signs of anyone else she might know. She laughed out loud when she caught sight of Jason dressed as a GhostBuster, doing the Time Warp for a bunch of gaggling fans.

"Hi Jase!" She waved at him animatedly. "Nice costume!"

"Thanks, Cait! You too! You came as a knife and cereal infomercial woman, that's so cool! So who ya gonna call?" Jason pointed his ectoplasm gun at her.

"You!" She pointed back, giggling, figuring it was a waste of time to try and explain the wit of her costume, and proceeded to join him for the Macarena before going to go get a drink.

Sniffing suspiciously at the punch, she opted for bottled water instead. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a familiar curly head in a pirate hat.

"Ahoy, matey!" Caitlyn chuckled as she approached him from behind, only to have him around and her realize that he wasn't the person she thought he was.

"Oh, sorry, I thought you were someone else," Caitlyn muttered, blushing.

"Looking for me?" A voice murmured in her ear, and she shrieked, whipping round to face the new arrival.

"Nate!" she breathed, placing a hand on her heart. "You scared me!"

"Well, if I do recall, today is supposed to be some kind of holiday where supposedly scary stuff happens," Nate rolled his eyes. "What's it called? Hallows Eve? Walloheen?"

"Happy Halloween, Nate," Caitlyn smiled, giving him a one armed hug.

"Happy Halloween, Caitlyn. I like your costume by the way. Cereal killer, very clever!" Nate nodded in approval.

"You're the first person who's got it right!" Caitlyn clapped her hands in glee. "And you're… a zombie?"

"The afterlife of the party," Nate chuckled, running a hand through his temporarily green hair.

"Smart! Everyone else is so predictable. Except Shane, what is he?" Caitlyn's furrowed her brow in confusion as she looked over at Shane's odd concoction of apparel.

"He's Superman as Chuck Norris," Nate shook his head with incredulity.

"Huh?" Caitlyn raised an eyebrow.

"You should have heard him go on about how 'Chuck Norris doesn't dress up as Superman for Halloween. Superman dresses up as Chuck Norris!' He's got a whole bunch of Chuck Norris jokes on tap especially for tonight," Nate rolled his eyes again.

"Right. Well, at least he's got some imagination. The rest of these people are so superficial I'm losing brain cells just looking at them!" Caitlyn yelled at Nate though the pounding music that seemed to increase with volume every second.

Nate yelled something back, but Caitlyn didn't quite catch it.

"What?" She strained to hear him.

"I SAID, MOST OF THESE BIMBOS HAVEN'T GOT BRAIN CELLS TO BEGIN WITH… oh, crap."

Nate had picked a very unfortunate time to scream his opinion at the top of his lungs. Just as he started to yell, there was a break in the music, causing nearly everyone in the room to look at him in complete silence as he shouted at Caitlyn.

It took every fibre in Caitlyn's body not to burst into fits of laughter as Nate was glared at by almost every female in the vicinity. She could see Mitchie silently convulsing with giggles, and Shane had to shove his fist in his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Jason was the only one who seemed unfazed, continuing to do the Soulja Boy dance as if the music never even stopped.

Nate's face went completely red under his white makeup, and looked desperately at Caitlyn. "_Help me!"_ he mouthed.

Caitlyn just bit her lip, grabbed his arm and dragged him up the stairs, away from everyone's piercing stares as the music began to play again.

"That was just fantastic, Nate. You really have a way with women," Caitlyn finally giggled as she pulled Nate into an empty bathroom.

"How embarrassing," Nate buried his face in his hands.

"At least you made a lovely statement about your opinions of the girls you usually hang out with," Caitlyn smirked.

"Are you kidding me? They are _not _the type of girls I usually hang out with. I don't even know most of them!" Nate exclaimed. "The label invited them!"

"Sure, Nate, whatever," Caitlyn nodded sarcastically, turning and checking her reflection in the mirror. Now she was alone with Nate in his creative outfit, she felt a little more self-conscious about her lack of a real costume.

Just as Nate opened his mouth to reply in his defence, a clap of thunder sounded outside, and all that came out of his mouth was a high-pitched yelp.

Caitlyn spun around with an incredulous grin on her face. "What was that?"

"Nothing!" gushed Nate quickly, too quickly.

"You're a horrible liar, Nathaniel," Caitlyn narrowed her eyes, taking a threatening step towards him.

"I just don't like thunder, okay?" Nate snapped, avoiding her gaze.

"Are you kidding me?" Caitlyn cried in hilarity. "You're scared of thunderstorms?"

"No! I just don't like them!" Nate glared at her. "I find them creepy."

"C'mon, Nate. It's Halloween! You must at least enjoy them on Halloween, it's practically the perfect atmosphere," Caitlyn prompted.

"Exactly. Halloween isn't exactly my favourite holiday. I don't even know why it's a holiday in the first place! What is so great about dressing up like an idiot and trying to scare people?"

"I dunno, I just do it for the free candy," Caitlyn shrugged. "Haven't you ever even gone trick or treating?"

"Yeah, once, when I was four or five," Nate frowned. "I hated it."

"No way! Why?" Caitlyn's eyes widened and she took another step towards him.

"I don't want to talk about it," Nate scowled.

"Aww! Did Natey-Watey get a little scarwed?" Caitlyn cooed mockingly.

"Shut up! How about you slip over in some fake blood on the scariest house in town, then have a skeleton jump out at you and you scream so loud you wet your pants in front of all the kids in the neighbourhood, then see how you like it!" Nate grimaced.

"Oh, Nate. I'm sorry," Caitlyn tried really hard not to even show a hint of a smile. She really did.

"It's not funny, Caitlyn!' Nate glowered, seeing the corner of her mouth twitch.

"I know, Nate. It's not funny one bit. Not even a little," Caitlyn snickered.

"It's seriously scarred me for life! I hate everything and anything even remotely related to Halloween now! Stop laughing!" Nate exclaimed, but even he was started to get a hint of a grin.

"I'm not laughing!" Caitlyn lied, snorting out a chuckle.

Their eyes met and they both burst into hysterics. Suddenly, there was another clap of thunder, and everything went black. Amidst the sounds of screams and shouts of annoyance coming from downstairs, Caitlyn felt a tight pressure on her hand, and the sensation of fingers tightly interlocking with her own.

"Nate? Are you okay?" She whispered.

The pressure on her hand increased. "No, I'm not. This is exactly why I hate Halloween," Nate hissed, sending a flurry of hot breath onto Caitlyn's cheek.

"It's okay, Nate, it's just a black out," Caitlyn patted his arm awkwardly with her spare hand that wasn't being crushed.

"I know. I know. It's cool, really. Is it hot in here? It seems hot in here," Nate stammered.

"It's exactly the same as it was too seconds ago," Caitlyn reassured him. "Do you, um, need anything?"

"Some light would be really good right about now," Nate squeaked.

"Oh, um, okay," Caitlyn patted her pockets for her cell phone, but realised she left it with her bag in Mitchie's car. "Crap, I left my phone in the car. Do you have yours on you?"

Nate released her hand and hurriedly ran his hands over his body, desperately feeling for a pocket, but finding none. "No. I have to get out of here. They must have candles or something downstairs, I've got to get out of here!"

He pushed past Caitlyn to the door, but instead of it swinging open, the handle only rattled as he tugged on it.

"We're locked in!" Nate cried in horror. "Help! Let us out! Help! Anyone! Let me out!"

Nate pulled and pulled on the door, banging loudly on it, but nobody answered. Caitlyn felt her way over to him and rubbed her hand soothingly on his back.

"Shh, calm down, Nate, it's alright!" she comforted him.

"It's not alright, Caitlyn! I'm scared of the dark, okay? I hate it, just like I hate thunderstorms and I hate Halloween. I hate it!" Nate shrieked, turning to face her and sliding down the door.

Caitlyn sat down quietly beside him. "You're afraid of the dark?"

"Yeah, go ahead and laugh," Nate muttered sullenly.

"Don't worry, Nate, we all have our irrational fears," Caitlyn shrugged, linking her arm with his.

"Oh, yeah? What are you scared of?" Nate sniffed, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Um…" Caitlyn quickly raked her brain. "Voldemort?"

"He's a fictional character!" Nate snorted. "It's not the same!"

"Yuh-huh! I had nightmares about him for weeks after I read the Half-Blood Prince!" Caitlyn urged sincerely.

"So that's it? That's all you're scared of?" Nate sighed. "You make me feel like such a sissy."

"Well, I was kinda scared of you when you freaked out on me a second ago," Caitlyn whispered, her breath slightly stirring Nate's hair.

"Really?" Nate tried to look up at her to see if she was telling the truth, but all he managed to do was bury his nose in the curve of her neck.

"Yeah," Caitlyn tensed at the close contact. "I can handle the dark and heights and closed spaces, but I can't handle people in distress. It scares the crap outta me."

"Sorry. But I'm actually glad I've got you here with me," Nate shyly murmured, tilting his head up and kissing her lightly on the cheek.

Caitlyn turned her head sharply towards him in surprise, and their lips brushed. Before she knew what she was doing, Caitlyn dipped her head and leaned forward uncertainly, unsure of the exact position of Nate's mouth. She kind of got him halfway on the chin, but he raised his hand and placed it on her cheek, guiding her in the right direction. They moved their mouths together in perfect time, gradually deepening the kiss. But the need for oxygen eventually caused them to break apart.

"Note to self; scare Caitlyn more often," Nate breathed.

Caitlyn giggled, and leant in to press another kiss to his lips. But before she could get there, the door swung out from behind them and the landed flat on their backs in the hall.

"There you guys are!" Jason exclaimed. "What the heck were you doing in there?"

"Having the best Halloween ever," Nate grinned, catching Caitlyn's eye and winking, make her giggle as he took her hand in his.

"Definitely," she agreed, winking.

Jason gaped at the two on the ground in bewilderment. "Is that why you have white makeup all around your mouth, Caitlyn?"

* * *

_Love the Naitlyn Halloween fluff :)  
__The review goblins will come to your house and steal your pumpkins and candy if you don't __**review**__. _


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